Lowell, Billerica, Chelmsford

[OwnReward]

Could anyone recommend a couple good places? Chinese, Thai, Sushi, Italian, American? Unusual? Kid-friendly and reasonable $$ are of interest, but food quality is the key...

Regards,

KV

[ninetofive]

We eat at Vincenzo's on Concord Road in Chelmsford every few months. Good service, good food, and kid friendly without turning into an Olive Garden. We've brought our 4-year-old in there often and have been treated well -- we've also gone without him and noticed other children there who were similarly well treated. With two or three separate dining rooms, they do a good job of seating families away from from couples, so if there is a problem with kiddie noise, it's minimal.

There's a new Indian place on Rt. 110 in Chelmsford heading toward Westford (on the right, can't remember the name). We tried their lunch buffet a few weeks back and it was very good. There were several Indian families dining with us -- the service was good, if a bit hovering, so we plan to try it for dinner some night.

If you like Thai, there's a tiny little place in Chelmsford center called Yoong Tong. And I mean tiny -- like eight or so tables. We've eaten there maybe a dozen times and do take out more frequently, but the food is good and even when they're packed, they always take time to attend to my son -- either bringing him a special drink (n/c) or letting him play with one of the stuffed elephants they have on display.

[dans]

Could anyone recommend a couple good places?  Chinese, Thai, Sushi, Italian, American? Unusual?  Kid-friendly and reasonable $$ are of interest, but food quality is the key...

Regards,

KV

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In Chelmsford:

Vincenzo's is a pretty good red sauce place. The veal parm is a sure hit with my wife. I can't talk about the Indian place (I didn't know about it until now) or Yoon Tong which I haven't tried.

Another decent Italian place is Amici's on Summer St. (little more than a sub shop, but they do have decent food) At the other end of the plazz is Sakura which is really good sushi. There is a Thai place on Rt 110 heading towards Westford that we really like. For Chinese restaurants we like two. Bamboo (in Weestford actually) on Rt 110 and Sechuan Chef on Rt 4 in North Chelmsford.

Places to stay away from Skip's on Rt 110. A "Blue hair" place with miserable food. Fresh Chow in Chelmsford center has no redeeming qualities. There is a restaurant just north of the "rotary" (at Rt 3 and Rt 4) that is not really that good either (I think it is Jimmy's or something). A little futher up is Bainbridge, which is your best bet this end of town.

There are quite a few places in downtown area that are only open for lunch that I can't speak of. But if you want really good food, you have to leave town. The best restaurant in the area is Silk's at the Stonehedge Inn (Tyngsboro) - expensive but the food, service and wine list are top notch. It is somewhat formal (no jackets, but no jeans either) so if your kids aren't up to it, you should look elsewhere. The next best place is Michael Timothy's in Nashua. This is a more casual place that can get quite busy but hte food is good. Across the street is Surf Michael's seafood restaurant which is good, but not typical NE seafood place.

I wish I could recommend more places, but this is really a culinary wasteland here. Most everything in town closes up by 8 or 9. When we travel, we force ourselves to eat either in town or choke down burgers at the 99 in Lowell.

Dan

[WHS]

In Billerica there's a great South Indian restaurant called Masalaa--authentic veg dishes like dosais, iddlys, utthapams, etc. Very reasonable. In Lowell, there's a place called La Boniche which is highly recommended--French bistro style.

[gini]

In Billerica: Sichuan Gourmet. Probably one of the better Sichuan places in Boston metro, even.

[rlibkind]

I generally stay in a motel in the Lowell area on my car trips from Philadelphia to Down East Maine, since it's roughly the halfway point and I usually don't feel like 11-12 hour days of driving (six or so is my limit), so I'm interested in all suggestions here.

In downtown Lowell itself, it seems like there are a couple of Hispanic spots. Any reports? How about classic New England diners?

[gini]

I generally stay in a motel in the Lowell area on my car trips from Philadelphia to Down East Maine, since it's roughly the halfway point and I usually don't feel like 11-12 hour days of driving (six or so is my limit), so I'm interested in all suggestions here.

In downtown Lowell itself, it seems like there are a couple of Hispanic spots. Any reports? How about classic New England diners?

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Mexican: Mambo Burritos or Isabel's

Not in answer to your question, but...

Loatian: Phien's Kitchen

Vietnamese: Pho 88

Cambodian: South Eat Asian

[WHS]

OK--my sources in Lowell recommend these places--

Owl Diner for your greasy, filling breakfast experience

Olympia--no atmosphere, good Greek food

Elliott's for hot dogs

and Mrs. Nelson's in Chelmsford for chocolates

[jmcgrath]

The Southeast Asian in Lowell is quite good. The menu is a mix of Vietnamese and Cambodian. The lunch and dinner buffets are a real bargain, but like most buffets not as high quality as food ordered from the menu. When they list a dish as blindingly hot, trust them.

Jim

[elrap]

WHS is right on about the Four Sisters Owl Diner and Eliots. Actually, Lowell is full of wierdly interesting spots. Try the Romeo & Julietta Brazilian sandwich shop near Eliots. Red Rose in Pai Lin Plaza is one of the best Cambodian restaurants in the area; try the chow fun noodles. Angkor Kingdom used to be great Cambodian tho was sold very recently so not sure anymore. There's a few other places - Thanh, for Vietnamese, some Vietnamese sandwich shops and a Portuguese place or two. Some sort of regional TV gourmet guy went there maybe 6 mohts ago so you might find their stuff still on the web. I'll write more later.

Happy Hunting,

--L. Rap